SDG Business Forum 2018

About the Business Forum

The 3rd SDG Business Forum will take place at the United Nations Headquarters
in New York on 17 July 2018. The Business Forum provides a unique multi-stakeholder platform to support business action and partnerships to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – fostering public-private dialogues, catalysing new partnerships and alliances, and exploring innovative business solutions to accelerate sustainable development.

The Business Forum will be held alongside the UN’s 2018 High-Level Political Forum which will be held under the theme of: “Transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies”.

2018 Focus Goals

Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
Goal 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
Goal 15: Life on Land
Goal 17: Partnerships for the Goals

Outline Agenda

9:15 – 10:00	Opening plenary
10:00 – 11:15	Unlocking the power of business as a force for good: multi-stakeholder implementation of the SDGs and the role of business An interactive dialogue between business leaders, government ministers, and other stakeholders to showcase how they are collaborating at the local level to advance national SDG priorities. The session will focus how to build effective multi-stakeholder platforms at the country level capable of driving solutions to complex systemic challenges – and to learn from promising approaches.
11:15 – 11:45	A new era for responsible business – a conversation with leading CEOs How are leading businesses responding to the challenge of sustainability? What does it mean to be a “responsible business” in the age of the SDGs?
11:45 – 13:00	Leadership & Innovation for the SDGs This session will examine innovative and leading solutions for the SDGs in review during the 2018 HLPF. How can policy reforms enable greater action by the private sector and where the UN system can add greatest value? Are the SDGs providing a new framework for innovation? And how are businesses integrating the SDGs as a framework for future growth?
13:15 – 14:45	High-Level Lunch*
15:00 – 17:00	Parallel session I: Sustainable cities
	Many SDGs under review this year have an urban focus. How are private sector solutions being developed and deployed to make cities more sustainable? Local authorities struggle with raising money for sustainable investments and also wonder how they can make it more attractive for business to invest. What are the solutions?
	Parallel session II: Making the SDGs everyone’s business
	How can the engagement of small businesses on the SDGs be enhanced? A discussion involving multinational corporations, medium sized firms, co-operative, and small-scale businesses to examine the different challenges they face in implementing the SDGs.
	Parallel session III: Policy Dialogue for the SDGs
	Examples of collective action with a focus on the SDGs in review. How is the private sector contributing to national Voluntary National Review processes – and what’s the impact? How can business work with governments to develop policy frameworks and partnerships that drive sustainable development?
17:45 – 19:15	Reception*